Carriage-apron support



(No Model.)

H. E. MERENESS.

CARRIAGE APRON SUPPORT 'No. 422,428. Patented Mar. 4, 1890.

. port attached thereto.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. MERENESS, OF ALBANY, NEYV YORK.

CARRIAG E-APRON SU PPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,428, dated March 4, 1890.

Application filed October 9,1889. Serial No. 326,484. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. MERENESS, of the city of Albany, count-y of Albany, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Carriage-Apron Support, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a support for the apron or weather-guard used on buggies, carriages, or other vehicles; and the objects of my invention are to provide an adjustable, sliding, detachable, and cheap device, not only for supporting such apron, but also for the lowering or raising the inner edge of such apron, as may be desired. 1 attain these obj ects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a buggy with an apron held to one of the bows of the top by my improvement. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of part of one of the bows of the top of the carriage with the apron-sup- Fig. 3 is a rear View of such bow and support. Fig. 4. is an enlarged transverse sectional plan view of the apron-support and carriage-bow, taken in the line D so in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side View illustrating a modified construction of the apronsupport and part of said carriage-bow. Fig. 6 is a side view of either the support or carriage-bow, showing a series of hooks placed .and sliding jthereon. Figs. 7 and 9 are plan views of modified forms of the hook, showing diiterent means of attachment thereof'to either the rod of the support or the carriagebow. Fig. 8 is a plan view of an eye some.

times used by me either upon the supporting-rod or the carriage-bow instead of the hook shown in some of the other figures. Figs. 10, 11, and 12 are cross-sectional views of a part of either said hook or eye, showing different manners of construction and attachment to either said supporting-rod or carriagebow.-

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, A represents a supporting-rod, upon which is fitted a slide or box. B, to which is fixed either a hook or eye G O. Opposite the hook or eye is threaded into the slide or box a thumb or set screw D. The supportingrod is preferably constructed with a lengthwise groove a, into which the set-screw D passes, and whereby when the screw is loosened a little to allow the slide B to be adjusted vertically on the rod, the end of the screw by being inserted into the groove will prevent the turning of the slide on the rod, and consequently will hold the hook or eye in its proper position to be easily engaged by or to the apron.

Brackets or cleats E E, into which the ends of the rod A are fitted, provide a means for connecting the rod A to the bow F of the vehicle-top by screws or bolts 6, passing through said brackets or cleats into the bow.

The rod A may, instead of having the re movable brackets or cleats, be constructed so that its opposite ends are bent to form connections by either screws or bolts to the carriage-bows.

Fig. 1 of the drawings shows that one of the supports is attached to the carriage-top bow at each side, preferably the middle bow, and the apron, after being passed over the dash-board and allowed to hang down at each side of the carriage, is caught by grommet holes or eyelets in it, or by hooks attached to it, over or upon or into the sliding hooks or eyes 0 of the two supports.

By simply loosening the set-screw D the apron may be easily and quickly adjusted as to its height at its inner part by sliding the slide B up or down on the rod A and fastening the set-screw in the new position occupied by the slide or box.

I am not restricted to the use of a round rod and a set-screw for holding the slide, as Fig. 5 of the drawings shows that I may use a rod A of round or square cross-sectional form and'provided with a rack a and aslide B, having an eye 0, and also provided with a spring-pawl D, which is adapted to engage the rod-rack a, and may easily be disengaged therefrom to allow the slide with its eye to be adjusted vertically on the rod for correspondingly adjusting the inner part of the carriage-apron, which in this case will be provided with hooks engaging the eyes of the slide.

I am not restricted to the use of the sup porting-rod, because I may use the slides or boxes with their accompanying hook or eye directly upon the carriagebow, and a series of such slides or boxes with their hooks or eyes may be placed upon a single carriagebow.

I am not restricted to any particular style or construction of the sliding boxes or means of fastening the same to either the supporting-rod or the carriage-bow, for, as shown in Fig. 7, the box may be made in halves and the parts joined together by screws or rivets, or, as shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, the box may be made in one piece and placed upon such supporting-rod or carriage-bow and held thereon by either the thumbscrew, bolt and nut, screws, or rivets. In fact, any well-known means may be used to hold a slide or box to or in its place on either the supporting-rod or carriage-bow.

I am not limited in the use of the apronsupport to bows of folding tops of vehicles; but the same may be applied to any suitable standard or support on any other vehicle to hold one end or side of a weather-guard apron.

The lengthwise groove (6 in the rod as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, may be dispensed with, as the frictional contact of the thumb-screw with the rod will be sufficient to hold the slide or box in its proper place and prevent the same being turned.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to procure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A weather-apron support consisting of a rod attached to a standard of any vehicle and a slide or box fitted adjustably on such rod and adapted for the connection of such apron, substantially as herein described.

2. A weather-apron support consisting of a rod attached to a standard of any vehicle and a slide or box fitted ad justably on such rod and provided with a hook or eye for the connection of said apron to said slide or box, substantially as herein described.

A weather-apron support consisting of a rod attached to a standard of any vehicle and a slide or box fitted adjustably on such rod and provided with a hook or eye for the connection of said apron to said slide or box, and the means for holding such slide upon said rod, substantially as herein set forth.

4. A weather-apron support consisting of a rod attached to a standard of any vehicle and provided with a lengthwise groove, a slide or box fitted adj ustably 011 such rod and provided with a hook or eye for the connection of said apron to said slide or box, and a set-screw threaded into said slide and adapted to hold the slide to the rod and to enter its groove to prevent the turning of the slide when the screw is loosened, substantially as described.

5. A series of slides or boxes with their accompan yin g hooks or eyes loosely fitted to and held in position by any means upon a supporting-rod attached to a standard of any vehicle for the support of a weather-apron, substantially as herein described.

6. A series of slides or boxes with their accompanying hooks or eyes loosely fitted to and held in position by any means upon a standard of any vehicle for the support of a weather-apron, substantially as herein described.

ll. E. MERENESS.

Witnesses:

G. S. WARNER, MARK (Jenn. 

